Cracked
by live on
Summary: Mello hates to take second place, but sometimes being impulsive can have unfavorable consequences. When it comes to video games, Matt always wins.


I wrote this for a community on LJ (the theme was Pokémon, which basically demands using Matt), then rewrote it twice because the first two drafts were absolute crap. Hopefully this is less suckish.

**Disclaimer:** Death Note belongs to Tsgumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.

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Snacks, check. Comfy chair, check. Homework hidden so far away that no one would ever find it, check. Matt hopped up onto his bed, pushed aside his Digimon plushies and settled in with wide grin on his face. There was nothing like playing a brand new game, and the just-bought copy of Pokémon Crystal he was currently ripping open looked like it was going to be totally pwnsome. He pulled the Gameboy Advance out from under his pillow and eagerly stuck in the game cartridge, flipping on the system with one hand while the other reached for a bag of Doritos.

He'd hardly selected his starter Pokémon and was just chewing on his second handful of chips when the door of his dorm room flew open to admit a scowling blond chewing on a half-eaten chocolate bar. The blond muttered something that sounded like 'stupidfuckingmarshmallowassholethinkshe'ssogreat' and flopped down on Matt's bed beside the gamer's feet. Matt glanced up briefly when the bed sunk down under his roommate's weight but returned to playing his game without comment. Maybe if he was very, very quiet…

"God, I fucking hate that damn albino freak," Mello huffed, biting down angrily on his chocolate. He looked like he was about ready to shoot someone (Matt thought he could guess whom), and continued to rant on aimlessly in the same fashion for another five minutes without looking twice at Matt. The redhead sunk deeper into his pillows and hoped fervently that Mello would soon tire of ragging on Near and go off to steal candy from small children or whatever it was he did, leaving Matt to play in peace. It was a new game, for christ's sake, and while he loved Mello like the family member he didn't have there was no way Matt was going to forsake playing to listen to the daily Near bashing.

He might have been safe, he really might have, as Mello had the attention span of a four year old and his favourite cartoon was going to be on in fifteen minutes. Getting the remote would be at least a five-minute power struggle. So he might have been up and out of the room in another two or three minutes, had Matt not reached for another chip and caused the bag to crinkle loudly and catch Mello's attention. _Dayyum_. Matt sighed mentally while Mello crawled up the bed and rested his chin on the redhead's shoulder. "You're not listening to me," he stated.

"Um. No, no, I heard you." Matt lied unconvincingly, thumbs jabbing at the controls.

"Really. Then what did I just say?" Mello sounded pissed. More pissed than usual. Maybe Matt should have paid a bit more attention to what he was complaining about instead of just brushing him off. Oh well, too late now. Twelve minutes until the blond's cartoon; Matt's gaming time might still be salvageable.

He would just have to think things through carefully and- "Er, 'you're not listening?'" Matt replied vaguely, mind still focused on the game. Well. Never mind, then. This was probably going to end badly.

Mello's eyes narrowed and he pulled away from Matt, a dark expression on his face, "Wrong," he stated, crossing his arms as he sat back against a Charmander-shaped pillow. "So what's the game today, Matt?" Mello's voice sounded too intimidating to be coming from his girlish little twelve-year old body, and Matt felt himself wince slightly at his friend's words. Most of the time Mels was a great guy, but he could be damn scary when he wanted to.

"Uh. New one. Nothing special," Matt continued to play quietly, not wanting to say anything that would set Mello off more. The older boy wasn't much for Pokémon, and thought Matt was a gigantic dork for having any interest in it whatsoever. Maybe if he'd been playing something that involved lots of blood and shooting and motorcycles, Mello would've understood a bit more, but Pokémon would not be tugging on any psycho heartstrings.

Unsatisfied with this answer, Mello eyed Matt briefly and then reached out and snatched the Gameboy out of his hands. He ignored the redhead's indignant shout and peered down at the screen, face twisting in revulsion when he saw what the game was. "Pokémon? Fucking _Pokémon_ is more important than me?" Mello exclaimed, azure eyes flashing in rage, Before Matt could stop him he had jumped off the bed, crossed the room, and pulled open the window, Gameboy still grasped in one pale hand. Matt, realizing what his about to be ex-best friend was about to do, dashed after Mello but was too late to save his game system from dropping three stories onto the hard ground and cracking in half like an old coffee cup.

Mello could barely stop the crazed gamer from jumping out the window after his Gameboy, but later wished that he had just let him go. The rest of Wammy's, on the other hand, greatly appreciated the large stash of chocolate Matt personally handed out the next day while the blond was on kitchen duty.


End file.
